Taking the deep dive into biochar and what it can do for my #permaculture #permies project regenerating our old coffee farm in combination with our composting operation.
Thank you #[0] and #[1] for putting me on this
http://bookszlibb74ugqojhzhg2a63w5i2atv5bqarulgczawnbmsb6s6qead.onion/book/5952957/d7b33a
π
Iβve always viewed this as overcomplicating a simple process. Things burn. Char and ash are byproducts. They are beneficial. So.. burn when convenient for the farm and use when available.
I haven't used any of my ash yet, I'm kinda nervous about shifting PH
I use where pine is heavy.
Maybe, but it is an often overlooked technology that can make your farm more productive and can easily be scaled for profit.
Yeah I heard biochar doesn't mess with PH like woodash does.
That true?
Still an alkaline.
According to Michael Wittman on #[6] podcast biochar does not change PH.
Looks like I'm about to fuck around & find out π€
Lmfao. +1
Worm castings are completely balanced,
My soil has a perfect PH,
Adding chicken manure,
Hopefully duck manure,
About to secure cow manure,
Need to be more diligent with cover cropping,
FA&FO w/ bio-char,
WHAT AM I MISSING?!
This is a gangsta AF setup
π΅οΈββοΈ Azolla pond to feed worms, ducks, chickens and a great material to either directly fertilize trees/garden or add to compost. +Bring overall expenses down.
Meat
Should I plant my tomatoes directly into a steak?
The importance of ruminants was the biggest blind spot I had while applying permaculture principles.
Need more land to have ruminants - maybe I can swing a mini jersey but I doubt it on my plot as it stands rn
Goats for soil disturbing/meat and load in horse/cow manure?
I'll eventually have a couple goats, getting cow manure from my cheese guy, and my friend has horses he said hed give me manure from but I'm gonna wait a year to accept any - wanna see what they feed em.
I compost everything in a single year in one large pile that my chickens and ducks have access to (bedding, table scraps, clippings, wood ash, and garden waste). They do the turning for me. They also fertilize as they turn. I use my goats for orchard maintenance. Similar fertilization benefits.
For gardening I use the previous yearβs compost. Occasionally I being in manure. I try to keep the entire process simple.
Awesome, I plan on doing a bit of everything compost wise - but I'll definitely be relying on my chickens & ducks to do the work for me.
Buying fruit trees this year, have a decent budget.
Just need to find the right supplier of trees.
Also, trying to 10x my red wigglers again this szn, so ~200k to ~2m worms.
Worms are a must.
Should add that rabbits are also apart of this process.. I house them inside my coop where the chickens and ducks roost. The chickens spread the rabbit manure into the bedding that is raked out and added to the compost every spring. I let the bedding build up from spring through to winter. It composts down and adds heat to the coop in the winter.
I also breed worms for the castings.
The thing about horse dookie is that it doesnβt break down the weed seed as well. I learned that the hard way.
Lmfao
Eco Farm by Charles Walters
I haven't worked with biochar yet. My take on it from a soil food web perspective is that it would be best if soaked in compost extract before applying. Use it to deliver lots of good organisms to the soil in a protective structure they can operate from. Almost like innoculating grain spawn with spores. Innoculating soil with biology, including spores.
It absolutely has to be charged otherwise itβll steal fertility from the soil for the first couple of seasons.
π― needs to either be soaked or incorporated with compost for an extended period of time to ensure it's loaded with nutrients and microorganisms. I'm going to be mixing it with my compost and giving it a Korean natural farming indigenous microorganism bath.
